Animalia: September 2011

Animalia: September 2011

Friends for Animal Care and Effective Solutions (Utah FACES) raises funds for the care and support of animals that come into the Salt Lake County Animal Services shelter. Their programs include the annual Doggie Olympics, the Diji Fund, which provides emergency medical care to seriously ill or injured animals so they may become adoptable, and Adopt-A-Kennel to help Salt Lake County Animal Services become the first major “no-kill” municipal shelter.

They are also raising funds to purchase a mobile unit to provide Animal Services disaster response and other rescue operation capabilities, and they fund a mobile adoption unit that operates throughout Salt Lake Valley.

Sprig is an incredibly sweet and loving three-year-old male Lab mix. He gets along great with other dogs, and you can see by his sincere eyes that he is ready to have a family all his own. Pet ID: 3708385

Turbo! How can you resist this cool cat? Turbo is an adult male with a great disposition, and loves everyone including other cats and dogs. He will make a perfect companion. Pet ID: 3482463.

Our pets are brought to you this month by Second Chance for Homeless Pets. Adoption includes spay/neuter, current vaccinations, deworming, new pet DVD and a small bag of food. Second Chance is a nonprofit, no-kill shelter that acts as an extension of local animal control programs, providing the time and resources needed to find animals new homes and reduce the need for euthanasia. They invite everyone to visit their wonderful pets at 200 E. Gordon Lane (4180 S). utahpetadoptions.org

News bites

Federal investigation of wild horse smuggling. The American Wild Horse Preservation Campaign is calling for a federal investigation of the Bureau of Land Management’s practice of selling truckloads of wild horses for $25 per horse or less after law enforcement authorities seized 64 mustangs in Utah en route from Oklahoma. The horses were being illegally shipped out of the country for slaughter despite a federal prohibition on the practice.www.wildhorsepreservation.org/news

BLM roundup of Kiger Mustang herd in southeast Oregon. These wild horses are prized for their genetic lineage, which traces back directly to the horses of the Spanish conquistadors. The BLM captured the entire population and intends to permanently remove 113 mustangs from the range, returning just 84, choosen for color and other traits desired by Kiger mustang breeders. The BLM’s management program is essentially a private breeding program on public lands, allowing less than 140 Kiger mustangs to live in a 55,000-acre area where it permits more than 688 privately-owned livestock to graze.wildhorseeducation.org

Egg industry agreement. The Humane Society of the United States reached an agreement with the United Egg Producers, which could result in a complete makeover of the U.S. egg industry and improve the treatment of the 280 million laying hens used each year. If enacted, this would be the first federal law relating to chickens used for food, ending barren battery cage confinement and providing more humane standards for laying hens. tinyurl.com/eggindustryagreement

Events

Friends in Need Animal Sanctuary and rescue is hosting their annual fundraiser, a 5K walk/run at Eagle Mountain at 9 a.m. on September 10. www.friends-in-need.org.

Pop tunes for whale pods

Scientists have discovered that male humpback whales have a complex musical culture, with popular songs that rapidly spread from pod to pod across the ocean. “It’s a culturally driven change across a vast scale,” University of Queensland researcher Ellen Garland tells BBCNews.com. The latest hit is usually a variation on a classic, “like splicing an old Beatles song with U2,” Garland says. Other times, the whales create their own composition with high-pitched cries, moans, groans and growls. Researchers analyzing 745 songs performed by Pacific whales over 11 years found that new songs tend to originate with the westernmost Australi­an whale group before traveling east and as far as French Polynesia within two years. The males’ “quest for song novelty,” Garland says, is driven by “the hope of being that little bit different and perhaps more attractive to the opposite sex.”—from The Week

Recommendation

OcuGLO RX Vision supplement. I tried this on our 10-year-old dog, Thistle, whose main joy in life is to play catch. She has struggled lately with her sight in low light situations; she doesn’t have cataracts but vision loss associated with aging. Within the first few weeks, her eyes seemed clearer and brighter, and her coat was remarkably shiny. She also doesn’t seem to rely more on hearing anymore to compensate for her loss of vision. OcuGLO is a natural supplement with vitamins and 12 antioxidants including grapeseed extract, lutein and omega-3 fatty acids and many vitamins. A great supplement! You can find OcuGLO through your vet or www.animalnecessity.com.